No 210-ft Ravana effigy in Ambala this year

Nitish Sharma

The famous 210-foot effigy of demon king Ravana and the five-day Barara festival, which is organised during Dasehra, will no longer be witnessed in Ambala. Shri Ramlila Club has decided to shift the festival to Panchkula in view of shortage of space at Barara. It will be celebrated at Shalimar ground in Sector 5 of Panchkula.

Tejinder Chauhan, president of the club, says, “We are feeling sad but we have no other option. Though we have been organising the event successfully for the last 31 years, which is attended by thousands of people, politicians and officials, there is no dedicated ground for Dasehra. A major event, which draws a huge crowd, is going out of the district due to the apathy of politicians and the local administration”.

The club has been making the effigies of Ravana since 1987. Initially, it was 20-foot tall. Every year the effigy’s height was raised and the club had to change ground. It grew to 210 feet three years ago. The effigy has made it to the Limca Book of Records five times consecutively for its height.

“When we erected the effigy here initially, the ground was nearly 24 acres. But as new colonies have come up, the ground space has reduced to nearly six acres. We had made repeated requests for a proper ground for the festival and got assurances but nothing happened. We have already started preparations for the effigy; the structure of the crown, shoes, and the sword are ready. We knew we will face the same situation in Ambala again this year. Hence after visiting grounds in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, we contacted Mata Mansa Devi Trust and it agreed to celebrate the festival with the club,” says Chauhan.

The club requires 20 acres for the festival while the Shalimar ground is about 12 acres only.

Chauhan says, “It is a big challenge for us this time, as earlier we had an experienced team that worked for us without charging any money. But in Panchkula we will have to hire people, thus meaning increased costs”.

He says it is not possible to organise the festival in Ambala this year, as they have already made a commitment to Mata Mansa Devi Trust that has booked the Shalimar ground in Panchkula. If the club is provided adequate space, they will organise the festival in Ambala next year.

Shri Ramlila Club recycles the effigy parts. Last year, the club managed to save effigy parts worth nearly Rs 6 lakh. "Reducing the entire effigy into ashes is not necessary, as it is not a body. Last year, its face was the same as previous years though the colour and the mustache were slightly changed. The face cost nearly Rs 2 lakh and the 50-foot sword around Rs 60,000. This effigy costs around Rs 25 lakh. Crackers were placed in a manner that the face, sword and decorative items on the crown were not damaged. It will help the club keep the budget under control as the GST has increased the effigy cost," he says.

An incident that occurred three years ago in which a firefighter was injured after some parts of the effigy fell down is a cause for concern due to which the club had been contemplating not to organise the event if they don’t get proper ground.

Eco-friendly crackers sourced from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu are used to set afire the effigy.

The club last year had criticised the Congress and the BJP from the stage in the presence of HPCC president Ashok Tanwar and RSS leader Gian Chand Jain for the uncooperative’ attitude of successive governments.